BMW builds electric Mini for California

[DainBramaged]

BMW plans to export nearly 500 electric versions of its Mini car to California, company sources said.

The electric Minis are being built at the Mini factory in Oxford, England, without engines, gearboxes or fuel tanks, then shipped to Munich, Germany, where they are being fitted with electric powertrains.

BMW sources told Automotive News Europe that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers in California and 10 will be used as show cars.

The electric Minis are painted silver and have yellow roofs, the sources said.

BMW engineers working on the electric Minis are part of a new division called Project i established by the automaker to develop low-emission city cars.

The electric Minis will help BMW to meet new California regulations that will require carmakers selling cars in the state to offer zero emission vehicles.

Mini spokesman Cypselus von Frankenberg did not confirm that BMW is building electric Minis.

"BMW will announce whether it will build electric vehicles or not later this year," he told ANE.

Other carmakers are developing electric cars.

Volkswagen, Daimler, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen and Renault have all announced electric-vehicle programs in recent months, joining several U.S. and Japanese automakers that are working on the technology.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20080709/COPY01/289508976/1197 (subscription only)


No other info available.

[mod mom]

1. Why does only CA get the electric cars? why not mass produce and get them to the entire market?

My husband (currently driving a 96 Saab- though he only drives to/from work-3miles) is waiting for an electric car instead of getting another Prius-my family car. Another friend decided not to wait any longer and is a 2 Prius family. Why doesn't the market produce what the public wants?

[tinrobot]

6. California regulations.

From the article:

The electric Minis will help BMW to meet new California regulations that will require carmakers selling cars in the state to offer zero emission vehicles.

Perhaps more states need laws like this.

[Ichingcarpenter]

19. More States are following California's Lead

California Electric Car Decision to Spur Introduction of More Grid-charged Vehicles

Mar 30, 2008 – PAPILLION, Nebraska -- California's Air Resources Board agreed during hearings in Sacramento on March 27, 2008 to triple the number of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEVs) that the six largest auto manufacturers will have to build and sell in the state the three years between 2012 and 2015. The impact of the Board's decision, headed by Dr. Mary Nichols, will have far-reaching consequences for not only Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, but on drivers well beyond the borders of the Golden State.

CARB, as it is known, agreed to reallocated its complex system of credits for its Phase III (2012-2014) plan to deploy ever-cleaner, greener vehicle technologies from Partial Zero Emission Vehicles (PZEVs) to ZEVs, a class that includes battery-powered cars like the newly launched, $92,000 Tesla Roadster, and state-of-the-art, hydrogen fuel cell cars like Honda's new FCX Clarity, reputed to cost in the neighborhood of $800,000. In Phase III, the six major carmakers will have to choose to build and sell either type of vehicle to consumers, or they could choose to buy "ZEV credits" from smaller manufacturers like Silicon Valley-based Tesla or Orange Country-based Phoenix who already have highway-capable, battery-powered vehicles in production.

The Air Resources Board will now require carmakers to build a minimum of 7,500 fuel cell vehicles or 12,500 battery electric cars over the three-year period, or some combination thereof. This is three times the number that the Board's Staff had originally proposed. How many vehicles each manufacturer will be required to build during Phase III will depend on their percentage of car sales in California prior to 2012.

In addition to the battery and fuel cell vehicles, carmakers will also have to build nearly 60,000 "Enhanced-Advanced Technology PZEVs." These vehicles comprise a new class of cars known as plug-in hybrids that will have all-electric driving ranges of between 10 and 60 miles. General Motors is hoping to be the first major manufacturer to offer its Volt extended-range electric car that can operate its first 40 miles on battery power only, after which it will operate as a conventional hybrid. Driving range on a single tank of fuel is estimated at 640 miles.

But California's decision is likely to impact drivers as far away as New York State and the Canadian Province of Quebec. Some thirteen states have voted to adapt much of California's clean vehicle regulations once the U.S. EPA grants California a waiver on its request to implement it own, much more stringent air pollution regulations for motor vehicles, of which the ZEV mandate is an integral part. In effect, ARB's March 27th decisions could ultimately impact car buying choices for an estimated 40% of the U.S. market.


http://www.prlog.org/10060810-california-electric-car-decision-to-spur-introduction-of-more-grid-charged-vehicles.html

[ElectricGrid]

10. Because it's not simply a factor of just cranking out the cars

there are still, supply and reliability issues. Nearly every auto maker has said that by 2012 they will have a production model plug in hybird or EV on the market. It takes some time and $$ to overcome some of these hurdles. Remember most companies have never produced an EV before.

[mod mom]

11. Edwin Black's book "Internal Combustion" spoke of pre-WWI cars being electric.

You'd think by now they would have had things worked out. :shrug:

[hunter]

13. Gasoline was cheap.

Drill a simple hole in the ground and you might find yourself with more oil than you can sell...



There were quite a few electric cars, including this 1911 Baker:



It had a top speed of 29 mph. Jay Leno drives one:



You could purchase very long lasting nickel-iron batteries as an option. This type of battery can last forty years or more, and they are not as fussy as lead acid batteries. Jay Leno uses modern lead-acid batteries in his electric, but says some of the original nickel-iron cells for his car still work.

[dipsydoodle]

2. Maybe they'll do the same as Honda

which is lease them to selected customers only. That way they retain title and keep direct control of the cars.

[DainBramaged]

3. "BMW sources told Automotive News Europe that 490 of the Minis will be leased to selected customers"

It says that in the body of the post.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Sorry

missed that bit. Since I'm involved in car leasing I can understand the reasons.

[excess_3]

16. and crush the cars after leasing... I hope not .n/t

[dipsydoodle]

17. Shouldn't think so

They'll probably be operating leases so's they prop up the residual value - not the end user. They retain title to prevent onward selling at inflated prices due to supply shortage etc.

[OKIsItJustMe]

18. I suspect the leases will be for an artificially low amount (as they were with the EV1)

That way they will be affordable.

[dipsydoodle]

20. Not sure if you undestand operating leases.

The point of an operating lease is that the lessor is propping up the end / residual value : not the lessee. I'll make this up as I go along purely as an illustration.

Let's say that one of the cars actually costs them $20000 and they reckon that if it went out for a year it would still be worth at least that if it did 10000 miles.

Now assume a true rate 10% interest as a round figure.

If paid on a profile of 3 + 9 then the monthly amount would be $162.92 which obviously in this instance is pure interest. The figure would hardly differ it was done on a 2 year < 3 + 21> 20000 mile total.

So what if the lessee exceeds the mileage ? The answer is that they pay excess mileage charges. I didn't include maintenance which they may well do and that would be payable in addition / month.

If of interest to anyone I use HP 17B financial calculators.

[OKIsItJustMe]

21. Yup, got it

On the other hand, I still expect the leases will be for an artificially low amount to make up for the extremely expensive battery packs.

[DainBramaged]

5. Cypselus von Frankenberg

What an amazing name.

[rox63]

7. If they start selling these, the demand would be huge

And they'd make lots of $$$. Why just lease them to "selected customers"?

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. Because of the price

What many people fail to appreciate is just how expensive the battery packs for an EV are.

[rox63]

12. If they started manufacturing more of them, wouldn't the price eventually come down? n/t

[OKIsItJustMe]

14. Sure, that's generally the case, but...

That doesn't mean they can make a million of them at an initial price of $10,000/each.

It just doesn't work that way.

As demand increases for the battery packs, companies will compete to see who can build the bast/least expensive battery packs. So (for example) for the Volt/E-Flex, GM asked multiple companies to provide them with battery packs for use in their prototypes. (Rather than try to make their own battery, they're letting 3rd parties compete!) However, the price will still be quite high.

[seasat]

8. I wonder if they're using the PML Flightlink flat motors?

This Company built an all electric all wheel drive Mini Cooper as a demonstration of it's motors. I've been following them to see if they start selling these motors on th open market. I haven't been able to find one at any of the online suppliers so I don't know how much they cost. They seem like the perfect motor for a retrofit project.

It's an interesting concept. They use a pancake motor that mounts at the wheel instead of under the hood. The motors have regenerative braking and act as the brakes for the car. Because they replace the brakes and half shaft with the motor, it doesn't greatly increase the wheel weight.

[hunter]

15. That is a very "interesting concept."

Thanks for the link!